Gamer Fever
by amehanaa
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia had never considered herself a gamer, but Fairy Tail made her believe otherwise. And the pink-haired boy she met didn't care about that, anyway.


Lucy Heartfilia had never considered herself a gamer.

She preferred being outside than inside, reading books than watching TV, and talking to someone in real life than over a screen.

But after sauntering past the video game aisle on her way to get a new book, a certain PC game started to call her name. Her footsteps paused as she slowly reached out to the computer game.

"Fairy Tail?" she skeptically whispered to herself. She flipped the case back and forth, skimming through the game's summary.

Fairy Tail's case promptly made her hands tingle in anticipation. Though she had never seen the game in her life, she felt as if she _had_ to get it. There was something about it, luring her in.

"Weird," she muttered. Once she was finished reading the last paragraph, she was already hooked.

Secretly tucking it under her arm, she resumed her walk to the book aisle.

It was at that moment when Lucy's double life began.

She couldn't ignore the urge—she _needed_ to start the game on the first night. That night only led to an endless amount of nights.

Each day and each night Lucy played Fairy Tail so much, it made her forget there was such thing as a life. It was as though her computer screen had sucked her right into the universe of Fairy Tail.

Fairy Tail was the only thing on her mind as she slept and even during school.

All she could think about was completing each mission the game had to offer until the end, becoming as strong as the game would allow, and working hard with her fellow guild members.

She was addicted—she had the inevitable case of gamer fever.

Her best friend, Levy, had commented that it was scary just how identical Lucy's avatar resembled her.

"You could meet a super creepy guy on here, and he'll find you and kidnap you!" Levy exclaimed, only thinking of the worst.

"Not happening," Lucy waved her off with a giggle. It wasn't like she was actually talking to someone in Fairy Tail.

The guild members were solely computers, not having any mind of their own. Although they spoke as if they were real, Lucy knew they were simply there to help her throughout the game.

But it wasn't until she completed the final mission of the game when she realized—she wanted _more._

"I could just play it all again," she mused while staring at the main screen.

Yet, like the game itself, a certain option snatched her attention.

"Online play," she read quietly.

Lucy squeezed her mouse in her hand as the cursor hovered on top of the option. The option sparkled in response, making her wonder.

How many people were online playing? Were they her age or were they older? What if Levy was right and there _was_ a super creepy guy waiting to kidnap her?

Glancing at the clock and noting it was hardly evening, Lucy audibly exhaled through her nose. She didn't have any plans tonight—let alone any other day.

So she might as well see how it all worked just for a bit.

"Here goes nothing," she mumbled, clicking the option.

Lucy was pleasantly surprised to find out that online play was nearly identical to the main play. The only difference was there weren't any computers—just people.

There was no need to create another avatar. Lucy was relieved to see that the level she was on main play was the same as online play. It was high enough for her to do pretty much any mission she wanted.

The only thing she needed to do was find a guild.

Lucy felt her heart hammer in her chest as her avatar dashed across the screen. Speech bubbles were everywhere, showing that there were actual people playing this game.

It was enthralling—she was still in the Fairy Tail universe yet with more freedom.

Lucy didn't notice where her avatar was headed until it entered a familiar building. Despite it being a computer game, comfort instantly spread across her body. This guild was her home.

But this home was slightly different.

Lucy's eyes shifted all across the screen as she read every single speech bubble that floated in the air. Names were above each person, usually having something to do with their magic.

Not knowing what to do, she kept to herself, roaming around her new home. She jolted in her seat when a beep sounded through her speakers.

A message box happily bounced on the corner of the screen. She stared at it, hoping it would eventually go away. When it didn't, she hesitantly clicked on it, not having a clue what she was about to read.

"Join our team, we need a celestial mage," the message commanded.

Lucy tilted her head at the message. Was it just her or was this message a bit _too_ demanding?

Nonetheless, she accepted the invitation. She needed a team, anyway—it was impossible to complete missions without one.

"Welcome to Team Natsu," another message popped up.

Lucy's avatar was then sent to a plain white room with three other avatars standing around. Her eyes widened after noticing their high skill levels.

"Headset?" the word on a chat box surfaced onto the screen.

Lucy felt her fingers freeze at the message. They were obviously speaking to her, but her mind was blank on how to respond.

"No, I don't have a headset," she awkwardly typed as if she didn't know where each letter on the keyboard was.

"Why?" the same person messaged back.

Lucy knew she wasn't imagining the frustration coming out of this person. She scrutinized at the screen, reading that she was messaging a person named _Natsu._

"Don't pay attention to him, Natsu is just upset that we haven't been able to find a celestial mage until now. I'm Gray, by the way," said a new person on the chat.

"I'm Erza," another person added to the chat.

"Hi," Lucy replied, holding her breath. These strangers—who were they?

"So, you don't have a headset?" Erza asked, much more politely than the first person. "Why not?"

"I joined this game today," Lucy answered.

"Your skill level says otherwise," Gray remarked.

"I've been playing on the main game," she explained lamely.

"What person doesn't have a headset?" Natsu inquired again.

"Be quiet, people have their reasons," Erza scolded. "Well, though having a headset would help us, you don't really need one. You can talk to us by the chat."

"If you want to hear us, click on the speaker icon next to the chat," Gray suggested.

Lucy perked up in her seat at the new information. Perhaps hearing them would make her feel more confident? Before she backed out of it, she enabled the sound.

"I'm listening to you guys," she stated on the chat.

"Get a headset!" a male voice ordered aloud, causing her to jump.

"Natsu!" a female voice chided him once again. Of course, this was Erza.

"We understand if you find Natsu's voice annoying. Don't worry, I do, too," a second male voice—who was none other than Gray—came in.

Lucy didn't realize she was smiling until she felt her cheeks throb. She was relieved that none of them sounded like a super creepy guy who was planning on kidnapping her. If anything, they sounded nice and friendly. Well, besides Natsu.

"Welcome to our team," Erza spoke. "Let's work hard together."

"Thank you," Lucy typed, finding it amusing that Erza sounded just like the computers on the main play.

"Can we go on the next mission now?" Natsu's whining voice poured out of her computer speakers.

"Hold on, we haven't gotten our new teammates name," Gray pointed out.

"Oops," Lucy whispered aloud. She'd been so caught up on listening to their voices, she had forgotten to tell them her name.

"My name is Lucy," she revealed, glad that they weren't able to hear how timid she was feeling.

"Okay, Lucy without a headset, let's go!" Natsu proclaimed.

Lucy wordlessly followed her new teammates to their mission. Immediately, she began to have second thoughts on joining this team. Simply _going_ to the mission spot was a hassle.

"Get out of the way, Ice Princess! You're taking up the whole screen!" Natsu roared.

"Why don't you do us all a favor and jump off this mountain already, Flame-brain?" Gray retorted.

"Make me, Droopy Eyes," Natsu countered.

"I'm not going to touch you," Gray scoffed in disgust.

"If you two don't control yourselves, I'm going to keep the reward for myself," Erza threatened.

"Yes, Erza!" Natsu and Gray yelped simultaneously.

Lucy listened to the trio with entertainment. Erza sounded entirely like a mother with two troublesome sons that did nothing but fight. There was something about these three that told Lucy she was going to have fun with them.

The mission wasn't as challenging as she assumed it was going to be. It was over in less than two minutes; the reward was more than they deserved.

"You don't talk much, do you, Lucy?" Natsu asked once they returned to the white room where she first met them.

"I don't have anything to say," she admitted.

"I hope we haven't scared you or anything," Erza spoke uneasily.

"No, of course not!" Lucy assured quickly. "I'm not used to this sort of thing, sorry."

"Well, get used to it! Or get a headset," Natsu replied.

"Give her a break already," Gray clicked his tongue. "You'll be fine without a headset, don't worry."

"I hope so," Lucy responded with a sigh. She knew she wasn't going to be ready to get a headset anytime soon. Thankfully, there were two people who were fine with her not having one. The other—obnoxious—person was just going to have to wait.

"Well, I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight," Erza announced with her avatar disappearing seconds after.

"Me too. See you guys later," Gray's avatar vanished as well.

"It's only ten where I'm at," Natsu groaned. "I hate time zones."

"It's only ten where I'm at, too," Lucy mentioned with bewilderment.

"Really? Where do you live?" he questioned.

For the thousandth time that night, Lucy's fingers forgot how to type. She had no idea who this person was, and they were already asking where she lived?

"I live in Magnolia," Natsu stated in an effort to make her feel less uncomfortable.

"I don't live in Magnolia," she answered. There was no way she was going to tell a complete stranger where she lived.

"Good to know," he chuckled slightly.

As Natsu's chuckle drifted out of Lucy's speakers, she paused. It was a smooth laugh—one that made her want to hear it again.

"Well, how about we go on our own mission together?" Natsu offered. "I wouldn't mind some extra jewels."

"Let's do it!" Lucy accepted without a second thought. Out of all the things that had to reset from main play to online play, jewels were one of them.

"Last one to reach the mission has to be the one to pay for it!" he shouted before his avatar disappeared from the screen.

"Hey!" she giggled. "That's not fair!"

Hastily trying to catch up with Natsu by clicking everything she needed to arrive to their mission, Lucy already knew how she felt towards online play.

It was definitely better than main play.

* * *

It took Lucy less than one day to forget about main play. Everything was all about online play the instant she joined Team Natsu.

Though all she did was help in the background during their missions, it was more fun than she ever expected it to be.

Listening to Natsu and Gray bicker while battling against the enemy was probably the funniest thing she had ever listened to in her life. And to make it even more hilarious, Erza would either shut them up with a single word or became so irritated with them she'd join their quarrel.

"It's a shame Lucy can't talk to us," Gray said when they'd finished one of their missions one day.

"It's okay like this," Lucy guaranteed.

"Don't you get tired typing to us all the time?" Natsu asked.

"Not really," she shrugged carefreely. "I'm used to it now."

She had no choice but to get used to it. She still wasn't ready to speak out loud even after three months of knowing them. And she was also accustomed to typing to them now, and she felt like it was too late to get a headset for them.

However, not having a headset wasn't as bad as they thought. Since Lucy solely relied on their voices throughout missions, she naturally developed swift reflexes to help them out whenever she was needed.

Lucy subconsciously found herself listening for Natsu's voice more than the rest. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach each time he said her name. She could never get enough of it. There were times where she would only listen for her name.

Unfortunately, Natsu had no filter when it came to missions. He was either calling out to Lucy for assistance, or yelling out every curse word known to man. Those were the only two things he ever said.

And Lucy couldn't help but laugh each and every time.

"Lucy, just try to get a headset for us someday, okay?" Erza requested. "We'd all love to hear your voice."

"Especially Natsu," Gray snickered.

"Yeah, right," Natsu waved him off. "I already know how Lucy's voice sounds like."

"You do?" Gray, Erza, _and_ Lucy asked at the same time.

"How does it sound like, then?" Lucy typed with a raised brow.

"Like you, of course," Natsu responded naturally.

Lucy rolled her eyes along with Gray and Erza. She should have expected him to have answered that way.

"Christmas is coming up," Erza commented. "You could ask your parents for a headset, Lucy."

"I'll think about it," she replied truthfully.

"I'm off to bed now. I'll talk to you guys tomorrow," Gray's avatar started to dissolve away.

"Me too. Goodnight, you two," Erza began to leave along with him.

"It's your turn to pick the mission," Natsu stated when Erza and Gray were offline.

"Finally!" Lucy grinned at her screen. "You never let me pick missions anymore."

"Because you pick the boring ones," he teased.

"So what if I like the strategy missions?" she defended herself with an ineffective _hmph._ It was times like this where she wished he could hear her.

After knowing each other for three months, it was a tradition for them to do two—or several, depending on their mood—missions alone together.

Natsu spoke; Lucy typed. Neither of them seemed to mind it.

"You know, I've been forgetting to ask," Lucy mentioned once they finished their missions. They always left some time to talk to each other at the end of the night, no matter how late it was.

"What?" Natsu questioned.

"Why does your avatar have pink hair?"

"Because I have pink hair in real life," he answered simply.

"You're kidding," she typed with large eyes. "Did someone mess up dyeing your hair?"

"Of course not," he chuckled. "My dad has red hair and my mom has white hair."

Lucy instantly frowned at the screen. She knew how mixing colors worked, but she wasn't sure it worked like _that._

She was in the midst of asking, "Are you sure?" when his voice drifted out of her speakers.

"Did you actually believe me?" he inquired with a grin in his voice.

"No way!" she exclaimed after fixing all her sudden typos. "I knew it didn't work like that!"

"I do actually have pink hair, though," he confirmed.

"Good to know," she replied with a smile. She loved learning everything about him, even if it was something small like how he only enjoys eating spicy food.

Lucy leaned against her hand as she stared at the screen, thinking about all the things she knew about him. But before she could get to the end of the list, she was interrupted by Natsu's coughing.

"Are you okay?" she gazed at her screen with alarm.

"Y-Yeah, sorry," he cleared his throat. "I think I'm getting sick or something."

"We should get off then so you can rest," she forced herself to say.

"No, it's fine," he guaranteed yet he went into another coughing fit.

"Nope, it's not," she shook her head stubbornly. "It's time for us to get off."

"Lucy," he whined.

Lucy bit her lip in hesitation. He was using _the_ voice that he knew worked on her. However, this time, she was going to put her foot down.

"Then at least don't speak for the rest of tonight," she nearly pleaded.

"How are we going to talk then?" he asked.

"By typing," she responded. "Don't use your voice from now on!"

"But that's boring," he complained again.

Lucy let out a sigh. After all these months, Natsu had done all the talking while all she did was listen to him and effortlessly type back. She felt as if she owed him.

Her fingers began to move on their own; she slammed the enter key before she could catch a glimpse of the backspace.

"How about we type for the rest of the night, then tomorrow I get a headset and I talk?" she proposed.

"Really?" his tone told her that his eyebrows were raised.

"It's about time I get one, right? I'll buy it after school," she stated.

"Don't use it until Gray and Erza get off," he commanded.

Lucy tilted her head in confusion. Her brows furrowed as she typed, "Why?"

"No reason," he coughed out again.

"Stop using your voice!" she ordered desperately. "But fine, I won't use it until they log off."

"Okay, okay," he chuckled.

A small smile swept across Lucy's lips in response. Though already, she could feel anxiety spreading across her chest.

Was she really ready to show her voice to him?

* * *

Buying a headset was more nerve-racking than Lucy initially thought it was going to be. She had only taken three steps outside the game store when the box slipped through her fingers.

Frantically checking to see if she didn't break it already, she was relieved to see that the box didn't have a single scratch on it.

She hurried home to avoid any other accidental drops. She could see the box in her peripheral vision as it laid on her bed. No matter how hard she tried to focus on the computer screen, the headset was screaming at her to use it.

And as though that wasn't enough to distract her, Natsu wasn't online either. She couldn't stop herself from feeling disappointed. Though after remembering he was feeling sick last night, she realized he might be too sick to go online.

"I hope he feels better soon," Gray said once Lucy had explained why Natsu might not be on.

"That's a nice thing for you to say, Gray," Erza complimented.

"Thanks," Gray replied. "Do you know how much jewel we're supposed to be getting, but can't because of that tabasco idiot? It's ridiculous! We're doing extra missions tomorrow, alright?"

"Of course," Erza sighed with Lucy rolling her eyes at him.

Despite Natsu being offline, the trio decided to do small missions in the meantime. Although each of them felt it—it wasn't the same without the continuous stream of curse words being howled out.

"I'm going to get off now. It was still fun with just us," Erza spoke at the usual time she logged off.

"I'm going to give him a piece of my mind tomorrow," Gray muttered. "Night, guys."

"Goodnight," Lucy responded to them. As their avatars disappeared, she leaned back in her seat with her eyes closed.

"I expected too much, didn't I?" she mumbled to herself. "I shouldn't have gotten so excit—"

She wasn't able to finish her sentence due to a rough voice clearing their throat. Lucy immediately straightened up in her seat and gaped at the screen with startled eyes.

"Are you there?" Natsu asked hoarsely.

"Natsu, what are you doing here?!" Lucy typed as fast as she could. She could hear his heavy breaths through her speakers.

"You got your headset, didn't you?" he questioned. "You said you were going to use it tonight."

"You are unbelievable," she shook her head. "Let's wait tomorrow until you feel better, okay?"

"Nope, I want to hear you now," he stated firmly. "I'm not going back to bed until I hear it."

Warmth swirled on her cheeks as she reluctantly nodded. "Okay, let me plug it in."

She had unboxed the headset hours ago since it wouldn't stop begging her for its attention. Her hands trembled as she connected the headset to her computer.

Her hand paused on the mouse as the cursor hovered on top of the option that enabled her to speak. Once she clicked it, Natsu would be able to finally hear her. Not read— _hear._

Shutting her eyes, she clicked the option and brought her hands up to the microphone piece. She shifted the microphone piece closer to her lips.

"Hello?" she said hesitantly. "Can you hear me?"

For the first time, it was entirely silent. Lucy never knew Natsu could be quiet for this long. She opened her eyes, leaning closer to the screen as if it would help.

"Hello?" she spoke. "Natsu, are you there?"

At last, shuffling sounded into Lucy's ears. Then, with goosebumps instantly forming on her skin, Natsu's voice returned.

"You're a girl?"

If Lucy's jaw could have hit the floor, it would have. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. After all this time—he never knew?

"We've known each other for three months and you _just_ figured that out?!" she burst out incredulously.

"I don't pay attention to avatars!" he protested. "And girls don't usually play this sort of game!"

"What about Erza?! And what about my name?!" she countered. "What boy's name is _Lucy?"_

"T-True," he stumbled over his words sheepishly.

Lucy's cheeks were flushed as her heart pounded in chest. Natsu was always filled with surprises. He was just too much sometimes.

"Well, now you know," she sighed. "And here's my voice, by the way."

"Do you mind moving the microphone away from your mouth?" he requested. "Your voice is _really_ loud from my speakers."

"Sorry!" she exclaimed, pushing the microphone away.

Natsu chuckled, and Lucy could feel her blazing cheeks. Knowing _she_ was the reason for his laughter made her chest feel incredibly light.

"Wow," Natsu breathed out after some time. "I didn't expect this."

"Sorry," she blurted out, feeling bashful in seconds.

"Don't apologize. It's nice," he assured.

"What is?" she questioned.

"You," he spoke softly. "You're nice."

Although Lucy's cheeks were already pink, they darkened at the statement. She had been called many things in her life, but _nice_ was something she hadn't been called before. It had a special ring to it.

"You're nice, too," she whispered, but Natsu's coughing had gotten in the way.

"What'd you say?" he inquired when he was finished.

"N-Nothing," she stammered. "I didn't say anything."

"Well, too bad you're going to have to from now on," he commanded. "You're not allowed to type to us anymore."

"I'm not?" she lifted a brow.

"Never again!" he proclaimed. "Promise?"

"Pinky promise," she answered with a grin.

"I see what you're doing there," he scoffed, yet several coughs forced their way through.

"Go get some rest!" she ordered sternly. "We'll talk tomorrow."

"Alright. Night, Lucy," he said.

"Goodnight, Natsu," she replied with scolding cheeks which she had to pat to calm down.

Once Lucy logged off, she immediately surged up from her seat to leap into her bed face first. After she was finished gleefully rolling around in her bed, she looked up at her ceiling with a content smile.

Speaking to someone rather than typing were two entire different stories.

Speaking felt _real._ Everything from the occasional stuttering and coughs, the sighs, the groans, and the way they said each other's name were the definition of real.

Being able to actually talk to Natsu reminded her that he was a _real_ person. A person she could end up seeing and possibly meeting.

Lucy smiled to herself, replaying all the moments Natsu had said her name. All she wanted to do was say his name as many times as he had said hers.

She was beginning to doze off as her thoughts circled around him, yet before she was able to fall asleep, she heard her phone buzz on her nightstand.

Her eyes widened with surprise as she read that it was Natsu calling her. They'd exchanged phone numbers ages ago, but he _never_ called her. She wasn't sure what to expect as she accepted the call.

"H-Hello?" she stammered anxiously. "Is everything okay?"

"Okay, your voice still sounds the same," he sighed out in relief.

"Why wouldn't it?" she stifled a laugh, relieved at his casual tone.

"I don't know," he responded with a shrug in his voice. "I just took some medicine that's supposed to make me fall asleep. Can we talk until it starts working?"

"Fine," she gave in. "But if I hear one cough, I'm hanging up."

"Deal," he accepted easily.

Lucy didn't bother to look at the time once as she talked to Natsu. Even though he knew that she was a girl now, he acted the same way as he usually did. It wasn't a bad thing.

Though every few topics or so, something would purposely slip out of Natsu's mouth that would make Lucy's face light up her dark room.

It wasn't until her window began to light up from the morning sky when she noticed how long they'd been talking.

"Natsu, how are you still awake?" she asked.

"No idea," he answered with a sound in the background telling her he was moving around. "Oh, no."

"What?" she inquired.

"I forgot to take the medicine," he revealed.

"Natsu!" Lucy groaned into her pillow.

"I guess we'll just have to keep talking until we both fall asleep, then," he suggested smoothly.

"I guess so," she laughed softly. "What were we talking about again?"

Shifting around in her bed to find another comfortable spot, she listened to Natsu's addicting voice as they talked until neither of them could open their eyes anymore.

Lucy had never considered herself a gamer.

But she was addicted to a certain game—and she received the inevitable case of gamer fever.

Then somehow, in the midst of her fever, she ended up catching a slight case of Natsu fever as well.

* * *

 **First off, I would just like to start off by saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LISA! I've literally told you happy birthday like a thousand times today, but a few more times won't hurt. ;-)**

 **As you can tell, this one-shot is dedicated to my best friend whose username is raikis! You guys should all tell her happy birthday and thank her for suggesting this one-shot!**

 **Writing this made me miss LAFS so much, I'm so happy I was able to write something like it again. :') This is seriously LAFS' cousin, I've confirmed it. If you notice any similarities between LAFS and this one-shot, it was probably on purpose. C: I just miss it too much, I couldn't help myself.**

 **Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this! It's always nice to write some nice Nalu fluff for a change. But I still have loads of angst one-shots waiting to be written, so don't think my angst phase is over yet!**

 **So, again, happy birthday, Lisa! Hope you enjoyed all the cake you should have ate ~**


End file.
